course material

1. Is there a universal purpose in human life? Is there a reason that humans
can understand that explains why they exist
Final Paper Assignment:Ten Central Philosophical Questions(Choose Three Issues for
Argumentation, Discussion and Analysis) 1. Is there a universal purpose in human life? Is
there a reason that humans can understandthat explains why they exist?2. Did the universe
have a starting point in time or is the universe itself eternal?3. Are there any facts about
reality that are universally true, for everyone everywhere, for alltime? Or is all truth relative
to social and cultural systems of interpretation, to time andcircumstance, to an individual’s
subjective grasp of things?4. Is there a rational argument that shows, or at least makes it
highly probable, that theuniverse and everything in it was created by a Supreme Being?5.
Does each human being have the freedom to choose whatever action she or he wishes to
do,given that it is within the power and capability of the person to do that action? That is,
dohumans have free will, or are our actions as determined as an natural, physical event in
spaceand time?6. Is the conscious mind simply a product of brain parts and processes, or
brain-body systems?Or is the mind identical with the soul, which, although causally
connected to, is ontologicallydistinct from the body?7. Are science and philosophy closely
interrelated disciplines, or are they very different in theirgoals and methods?8. What is the
best form of government? Is there, or has there ever existed, a type of relationbetween the
individual and the state that might be considered ideal, or close to it? Could suchan ideal
state ever exist in the actual world?9. Is beauty completely in the eye of the beholder? Is
what counts as a work of art utterlysubjective? Are there any universally agreed on
standards of taste, beauty, and aestheticvalue?10. Do religion and philosophy answer the
same questions and serve the same basic purpose inhuman life and in society overall? Or
are the goals and methods of each quite different or even Determine a reasonable pro and
con position for each issue.State the pro position in the form of a thesis statement .To the
best of your ability, develop an argument for the pro position. Note that you personally may
disagree with this position; the challenge is to find the best argument possible
here.Consider at least two possible objections to the pro argument, or a possible
counterargument to the pro position. Thus you will be coming up with either a refutation
argument, in which you show that there is a flaw in the original argument (false premise(s),
failure of premises to support conclusion, etc.) or a counterargument, in which you come up
with a new argument that defend a claim that is counter to the conclusion of the original
argument.Respond to each objection or counterargument in reasserting the pro position.Re-

2. state the pro thesis in an expanded form (i.e., in a way that takes account of what has just
been argued and considered).Now state the con position in the form of a thesis
statement.To the best of your ability, develop an argument for the con position. Regardless
of where you stand personally on the issue, you should be able to present arguments for
both sides.Consider at least two possible objections to the con argument, or a possible
counterargument to the con position.Respond to each objection or counterargument in
reasserting the con position.Re-state the con thesis in an expanded form (i.e., in a way that
takes account of what has just been argued and considered).Finally, critically analyze and
evaluate the arguments for both sides of the issue and determine which side has the better
argument and say why. If you think both sides have equally good arguments or equally bad
arguments, explain why.You will be constructing these three sections for each of the three
issues you have selected. Each three-section issue treatment (pro argument/con
argument/critical analysis & evaluation) should be a minimum of around 500 words, for a
word-count minimum of 1500 words for the entire assignment. You may exceed the
minimum by up to 1000 words, for a word-count maximum of 2500 words.In each issue
treatment, you should cite at least two outside sources and have at least two citations from
material in the course text, for a total of at least six internal citations from the course text
and at least six internal citations from outside sources (they may be in electronic or printed
format). The number of sources listed in your works cited will vary, depending on which
material from the course text you use (read below). In your works cited or list of references,
list each different author/source you cite in alphabetical order. Note that in addition to
Wolff’s commentary, our course text includes excerpts from original works of various
authors (mostly from the philosophers we are studying) as well as short articles by various
authors in the Contemporary Application sections at the end of each chapter. So for your
internal citations from the course text, if you are using material from Wolff’s commentary,
you will cite Wolff as the author. If you are using material from one of the original excerpts,
for example, from Hume, then you will cite Hume in the internal citation in the following
way: That idea of red, which we form in the dark, and that impression, which strikes our
eyes in sunshine, differ only in degree, not in nature (Hume, qtd. in Wolff 63). If you are
citing an author of one of the Contemporary Application articles, just cite that author in the
internal citation and include the author as a separate listing in your works cited. Let’s say
you included the following quote from Richard Feigen’s article, appended to Chapter 7, The
Art Factory and the Death of the Connoisseur. Your internal citation should appear as
follows: Once we accept that the artist’s hand is no longer necessary, only his idea, it’s a
short leap to market the concept that beauty is not only no longer essential, it can even be
turned into a dirty, ‘elitist’ word (Feigen 299). And then,in your works cited, include the
author in a separate listing as follows: Feigen, Richard. The Art Factory and the Death of the
Connoisseur. About Philosophy. 11th ed. Robert Paul Wolff. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Pearson. 2012. 299. You should list the Wolff text in the works cited only once for all other
uses of that text. So, there will be at least twelve internal citations, but the number of
sources listed in your works cited will vary depending on how you use the course text.
There is no upper limit on the number of sources you may cite.Please note that Wikipedia
will not be accepted as one of these sources. Be sure to follow proper documentation format

3. using MLA, APA, or Chicago style. Remember to cite all of your sources within the text as
well listing them in your works cited or references page, whether you mention them in your
text or include their names in parenthetical citations. Only sources that you actually cite
within the paper should appear on the list of sources or references. Don’t include other
sources that you read or consulted in preparation for writing the paper unless you actually
used them in the paper.Ideally, a formal paper or set of argumentative essays like this
should be in the third-person voice [one, he, her, it, they ] (and never in the second-person
voice [you ]). However, you may use the first-person voice [I, we ] if what you want to say
demands it; for example, you may want to bring in personal experience as part of your
evidence or commentary. But overall, try to maintain a third-person voice.This assignment
is laid out so as to help you understand the particular structure of a philosophy paper. You
will be following the structure of an argumentative essay; remember that this is not a report
that simply presents information on a topic, nor is it a narrative essay. What you are doing
when you write a philosophy paper is, primarily, asserting a claim (which typically states
your own position) on an issue or topic, showing why you think the claim is true, and
defending this claim against possible opposition. Therefore, each of the three issue
treatments for this assignment should have all of the following elements:THESIS (this is an
original statement that is specific, significant, and presents a clear position on the issue or
topic at hand.)ANALYSIS and EXPLANATION of the THESIS SUPPORTING ARGUMENTS
(This is the meat of the paper.)OBJECTIONS to the THESIS (This is a good place to use your
source material. You may even come up with your own objections.)RESPONSE/REPLIES to
the OBJECTIONS (Never leave an objection or opposing argument
unanswered.)SUMMATIVE CRITICAL ANALYSIS and EVALUATION.There is much more
information on all of this in the document How to Write a Philosophy Paper located in the
Final Paper unit and also in the Appendix of the course text (see below*). Please consult the
RUBRIC FOR WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS for the grading criteria that will be used to assign
grades to written work in the course. You should also consult the RUBRIC FOR CRITIQUES
AND PHILOSOPHY RESEARCH PAPERS for more detailed criteria.As noted above, your
essay should make reference to at least six sources outside the course textbook; the sources
may be in electronic or printed form. You might search for information that supports the
pro and con positions in philosophical articles or books (or writing in other related fields).
There are also many websites that publish online articles that would be acceptable. You
may want to find a source that helps you explain or illustrate something you refer to (such
as a particular religion or cultural practice); you should also look for the opinions of experts
on the issues in question. Please note that Websites like Wikipedia or other Web pages such
as those containing online encyclopedias or general reference sites are not acceptable
sources for fulfilling this requirement. You may, of course, use and cite such general
Websites as references, but you must have at least six outside sources that are legitimate
published articles or books.*Please note that the course text has an excellent section in the
Appendix on how to write a philosophy paper. Each part of the paper (see the bullet points
above) is described and explained. The author has also provided a sample student paper
that was submitted in a course just like this one: Wolff presents the paper, which has a host
of problems but also some interesting ideas, just as it was submitted, then he goes through

4. and shows how the first attempt could be reconstructed into a much better philosophy
paper. Even if you feel confident about your writing abilities, it would be well worth your
time to review this material (starting on p. 345 of About Philosophy, 11th ed.).Click here to
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